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Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican being vilified in the government shutdown, has his own story about how federal closures have had an impact on his family.

In an interview with People magazine, Cruz recounts how his wife and two daughters found things to do when they visited Washington on the first weekend of the shutdown. The National Zoo wasn't open and museums on the National Mall were shuttered.

Instead, the Cruz family went apple picking and visited George Washington's home in Virginia. "We had a wonderful time in Mount Vernon," Cruz told People in the issue that goes on sale Friday.

Cruz's push to defund President Obama's health care law was embraced by House Republicans, and that became a key reason why Congress could not pass a stopgap funding measure before the new fiscal year began Oct. 1. Cruz has said he'll use the Oct. 17 deadline to increase the nation's debt ceiling to extract concessions on health care.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is calling it the "Ted Cruz strategy" and using the Texas Republican to criticize Republican candidates in 11 states.